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I Dream of Hollywood - July 2007

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - One for the fans

July 12th 2007 04:59
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Given that the fifth Harry Potter film was released yesterday, no doubt most of the die-hard Harry-heads will have already caught a night screening. This vast crowd, who have either grown up with Harry and his movies or his books or both, will have watched with wonder as the infamous "dark!" fifth instalment unfolded on screen and walked away gushing. As hardcore fans that is their duty.

Half-fans, be they devotees of the books only, or the cast, or some infamous Brit making a cameo, or a new convert, will no doubt attend this weekend. My review is for you - and for those who just feel like a blockbuster, a good time out, or have just gotten caught up in the buzz.
Credit where credit's due. The media campaign for Harry Potter 5 has been highly arresting, so kudos to the Warner Brother's media department.
Those of you who have actually paid attention to reviews and critiques of the movie - there must be some of you out there! - will have noticed that there has been a slightly negative trend. In "the biz" they call it "mixed reviews". For a movie without a cult or multi-billion dollar syndicate, mixed reviews usually mean death.
For Harry Potter... reviews are irrelevant. Critics could call a Harry Potter film the worst movie of all time - and they could be right too! - so long as it had the original cast and a remote likeness to a novel by J.K. Rowling, no one would care!!!

With this in mind, it seems almost pointless writing a movie review that will affect next to nobody's opinion about the movie. I proceed anyway, as this is a movie that raises a great many opinions. Few of them are good, but when they are good, they're great!
Starting with positives is always a good move.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Dumbledore's Army
First, the cast of youngsters, as a whole, are maturing extremely well as performers. The chemistry between the three primary leads is exceptional - better this time round than in any of the four preceding movies. Ron and Hermione, who look more and more likely to find themselves paired off in the books, are doing their best to keep it understated. It is effective.
Harry's first kiss with Cho Chang...
Daniel Radcliffe and Katie Leung
Harry's first kiss... overrated
This has been blown out of all proportion! It's a kiss, between two teenagers who are both as innocent onscreen as characters out of a novel by Enid Blyton. Expect as much. The tension surrounding it is as overblown as a scene out of Mommie Dearest!
The battle sequence between Harry's minions (Dumbledore's Army) and Lord Voldemort's minions is excellent! It will live up to even the most stringent fan's requirements and certainly provide a special-effects-orama for anyone after a good fantasy epic. This scene lasts twenty minutes - they are amongst the best in the movie.
Imelda Staunton and Daniel Radcliffe
Imelda Staunton steals the movie as the deliciously evil Dolores Umbridge
British actress Imelda Staunton (Oscar nominee for the independent film Vera Drake) plays villainess/bitch Dolores Umbridge. From the very first it is clear that this casting is inspired. Staunton (with the exception of the magical battle at the end) steals the film! She has no doubt won herself a vast coterie of new fans with the vast-exposure of this blockbuster. More importantly she may have just won herself a long overdue Hollywood career.
Staunton, as Umbridge, has that rare quality possessed by so few actresses these days: the ability to improve a scene just by appearing in it! Without her, Phoenix would be a much more tiresome, tedious affair.
Having praised the three most discernable positive aspects of the film, I have little else to say. Aside from scenes containing vast amounts of magic special effects, Imelda Staunton or snappy dialogue between Radcliffe, Watson and Grint, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix has very little else to offer.
This is a standard popcorn flick. At base it has a solid storyline, a decent cast with a few standouts and some memorably explosive moments. As so many critics have said so far. This is a good film, but not great. What they have failed to realise is that no one ever required it to be great!
Searing Phillippics about how "Harry has lost his magic" with this latest film are legion. However, they have all lost the point. This isn't a film containing a line-up of actors-actors with an Oscar award winning script writer, effects by WETA and a Coppola or someone else "important" at the helm.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a film designed to entertain the masses. Bread and circuses. On this level, it is supremely successful. And that's my review of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
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Comment by JohnDoe

July 12th 2007 06:58


Film & TV on DVD
I enjoyed this one too for what it was. If you are interested you can read my review HERE

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